Apple placed chip order for 32GB iPhones

Apple placed an order for 100 million units of 8-gigabit and 16-gigabit NAND flash chips, according to a report, so this could point to the imminent release of 32GB iPhones. Apple currently has a 16GB iPhone on the market. Sure, it’s possible that more 16GB iPhones could be on the way, ...

TiPb Presents: iPhone Live! Podcast # 11 — Bad Ash!

• Our podcast feed
• Download Directly
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Join Dieter, Jeremy, and Rene for iPhone 3.0 Beta 3, steel-jacketed next gen iPhone rumors, rants on carriers and music, and… SlingPlayer for iPhone? Plus a little Palm Pre talk…

Featured Review

• Pre-Review: Motorola S9 Stereo Bluetooth Headset for iPhone 3.0

Credits

Thanks to the the iPhone Blog Store for sponsoring the podcast, and to everyone who showed up for the live chat, or sent in questions!

Our music comes from the following sources:

• I Called You — iPhone Remix by Pete Leidy
via Sneakmove iPhone Ringtone Challenge

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb Presents: iPhone Live! Podcast # 11 — Bad Ash!

TiPb Presents: iPhone Live! Podcast # 11 — Bad Ash!

• Our podcast feed
• Download Directly
• Subscribe via iTunes

Join Dieter, Jeremy, and Rene for iPhone 3.0 Beta 3, steel-jacketed next gen iPhone rumors, rants on carriers and music, and… SlingPlayer for iPhone? Plus a little Palm Pre talk…

Featured Review

• Pre-Review: Motorola S9 Stereo Bluetooth Headset for iPhone 3.0

Credits

Thanks to the the iPhone Blog Store for sponsoring the podcast, and to everyone who showed up for the live chat, or sent in questions!

Our music comes from the following sources:

• I Called You — iPhone Remix by Pete Leidy
via Sneakmove iPhone Ringtone Challenge

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb Presents: iPhone Live! Podcast # 11 — Bad Ash!

SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone Rejected from the App Store?

Verizon iPhone More Likely When 4G Networks Arrive in 2010

The Wall Street Journal reports on comments made by Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg on a broad number of topics surrounding the company.

Of interest to readers, however, is the fact that Seidenberg addressed the possibility of Apple's iPho...

A really bad approach to Reversi on the iPhone

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, App Review

Reversi, sometimes known under the trade name Othello is a really terrific board game. The game goes back to at least 1888, and is said with some truth that it takes a few minutes to learn but a lifetime to master. Reversi has been very popular as a computer game for many years. In most versions you can play another human, or play against the computer.

It seems popular among Mac enthusiasts, and Ted Landau, who created and oversees the venerable MacFixit web site is a one time National Champion of the game, and came in 3rd in the World Championships in 1984. Go Ted!

The iPhone/ iPod touch has had many Othello/Reversi games available. Some play OK, some do fairly well, but doing quality artificial intelligence on a phone is no small challenge.

That brings me to the app at hand, called ReversiSister [no App Store link yet], from Japanese game authors DigiDock. To call it a new approach to the same would be an understatement. As you play, music blares in the background, while an animated cheerleader shouts at you. As Reversi is a game that takes concentration, I can't imagine why on earth someone would think this is a smart approach to game design. On top of that, the game does not play very well, and in my first game the app crashed near the end so I don't know who won, but I was ahead when the game went south.

You can turn down the sound and the irritating cheerleader, but that really doesn't improve the game play, and even if the cheerleader is turned off you can still see her waving her arms around.

There are some pretty fair Reversi games at the app store, including Morocco, Reversi and Black and White, but Ted Landau, who plays far better than I has looked at most of them and thinks they are all pretty poor.

Well, good or bad there is nothing worse than ReversiSister. It's loud, irritating, plays badly and crashes every so often. I'd give you the link to the game, but it's not yet listed in the US App Store. That's probably a good thing, but watch for it if you are a masochist. Here's a link to a YouTube video of the game play. Consider yourself warned. The game is going to sell for $0.99US.

Here's a collection of screen grabs:

A really bad approach to Reversi on the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A really bad approach to Reversi on the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon chief talks LTE iPhones, hates on rival: “I don’t know what Sprint thinks it is”

In a refreshingly open, straight-shooting interview with the Wall Street Journal, Verizon boss Ivan Seidenberg -- who has a reputation for being candid -- talked about virtually every hot-button topic facing its business today, starting with the love-hate relationship it shares with fellow partner Vodafone in its Verizon Wireless joint venture. Seidenberg reiterated that he'd love to take Vodafone's 45 percent off its hands, but admits that the prospects are unlikely in the short term; he goes on to say, though, that he's convinced they'll be willing to dump it once the wireless industry cools off. The next target of his ire is archrival Sprint, which he says will "self-destruct" by failing to meet capacity demand following the launch of the blowout $50 unlimited deal on its iDEN-based Boost subsidiary -- fightin' words from a guy whose ad campaign has revolved around a smug dork in a jumpsuit touting network reliability for half a decade. Finally -- and this is kind of juicy -- Ivan talks up the iPhone, saying that Apple had never seriously considered a CDMA version, but that he thinks the company will be much more receptive to talks once Big Red moves to LTE and everyone gets on the same page technologically. Of course, if AT&T has anything to say about it, it won't happen -- but it'll be a fun drama to watch unfold.

[Via Phone Scoop, image via I Can Has Cheezburger?]

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Verizon chief talks LTE iPhones, hates on rival: "I don't know what Sprint thinks it is" originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For the converts, Pocket Informant comes to the iPhone

Pocket Informant, a popular personal information manager for Blackberry and Windows Mobile, now works with the iPhone and iPod touch.

Review: Gel Swatch Library for iPhone

Gel Swatch Library won't cause any designers to throw out their swatch books which contain lighting gel samples. But the app does put a helpful tool in their hands and could be a valuable reference with a few improvements.

Apple Comments on Microsoft’s Laptop Hunter Ads

Businessweek's Arik Hesseldahl analyzes Microsoft's latest ad campaign "Laptop Hunters". We've highlighted the ads here which have generated a massive amount of reader discussion. The ads specifically target Apple's Macs as having a higher cost tha...

Undercover can track down your lost or stolen iPhone, kinda

Orbicule has long offered software that can help you track down your lost or stolen Mac. Now the company has debuted a similar iPhone app, though the value proposition may not be quite as clear cut.

Review: Strategery for iPhone

Strategery is a simple-looking but exquisite strategy game.

TiPb Speculates: What if AT&T Wants to Take Over iPhone Apps?

With all of these rumors about about AT&T interfering with Slingplayer getting into the App Store and changing their ToS to simply retract it the next day, it has to make a person think… What is AT&T up to?

Could the next iPhone be headed in the direction of some other smartphones by having AT&T bloatware thrust upon it? Would Apple even allow AT&T to restrict or replace 3rd party apps with their own carrier branded, white-label built-in options that perform similar functions at premium service prices?

Skype and Ustream are already not allowed on 3G, only WiFi. We’ve also heard rumors that AT&T was working on a U-Verse application for the iPhone. Features such as programming shows to record, using the iPhone as a wireless remote, ability to allow iPhone voicemails to be managed and controlled through the U-verse interface, etc… On top of all of those features it may be possible they want to add some sort of SlingPlayer-like capabilities such as streaming channels directly to your iPhone. Granted, you would have to be a subscriber of their U-Verse service but never-the-less, could it be a sign of things to come as carriers desperately try to avoid becoming “dumb pipes“?

AT&T’s Chief Technology Officer John Donovan had the following to say:

“We’re looking at the whole landscape, of what people use, and what’s out there in the home”

So what do you, our readers, think about all of this ? Is it possible that AT&T is trying to steal some control back from Apple? Trying to get their same-old bloatware onto our iPhones?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb Speculates: What if AT&T Wants to Take Over iPhone Apps?

Apple Videos Highlight iPhone Developers in Advance of WWDC

Not sure when this went live, or how I missed seeing it the moment it did, but the snippet of video on Trism that Apple showed off in their iPhone 3.0 Sneak Peek Event is up in full on Apple’s developer site, and it’s brought along some friends. The full list includes:

• Werner Jainek of Cultured Code (Things)
• Dr. Ge Wang of Smule (Ocarina, Leaf Trombone)
• Steve Demeter of Demiforce (Trism)
• Christina Wick of AOL (AOL Radio, AIM)

The videos show not only some great insights into the personalities behind some of our favorite apps, but the development process as well.

(Via Cocoia on Twitter)

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Apple Videos Highlight iPhone Developers in Advance of WWDC

Researcher finds possible bug in iPhone

Famed Mac hacker Charlie Miller has found another possible security vulnerability in Apple's iPhone.

Review: Drop7 for iPhone

Drop7 is an action puzzle game that's simple to learn and hard to master, just like the best of the breed.

Future iPhone may detect when you are truckin’ like the doodah man, offer video chat

Filed under: Apple, iPhone

Macrumors has a detailed breakdown of a couple of new iPhone patent applications, but here's the gist: Apple is looking at how to trigger events based on movements (or gestures), and one patent filing shows a front-facing video camera. The camera is easy -- there's your 2-way video chat (we hope). The motion stuff? Well, Apple could go in several directions with that.

According to the indications in the patent filing, Apple is suggesting the interface on the iPhone could change under certain conditions. Specifically, contacts would get larger if you are running. That makes them easier to tap when you aren't able to be as accurate. This is just one example, but I think the more the iPhone can correctly guess the context of its use, the better. We were all a little excited when we saw the auto-orientation of (some) apps, and the relatively minor miracle of a proximity sensor which turns off the screen when you raise the phone to your face. The motion-sensing stuff takes this way beyond all that.

While this stuff won't likely make it into the next iPhone revision, it does show you where Apple is headed: more features, better usability. Although I do notice the power button seems to have moved to the right, away from the top. Will that be part of the next iPhone? There's mention of everything from a stylus to a scroll wheel (like BlackBerry), but I think that's just patent chatter (covering the bases, as it were). Here's a link to the patent filing.

[thanks to Alejandro for help in plumbing the patent filing]

Future iPhone may detect when you are truckin' like the doodah man, offer video chat originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Future iPhone may detect when you are truckin' like the doodah man, offer video chat originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CEOh-Snap! Storm Owners, RIM Says Your Device is teh Sux and it’s Your Fault for Buying It

Seriously, I’m beginning to heart RIM’s co-CEOs almost as much as I heart Steve Ballmer. Give the mobilemen a venue and a mic, and we get blog gold each and every time. Chronology will help context here:

Mike Lazaridis on touch screen devices:

THERE’S a reason that R.I.M. is averse to the iPhone’s glass pad. “I couldn’t type on it and I still can’t type on it, and a lot of my friends can’t type on it,” says Mike Lazaridis, R.I.M.’s co-chief executive and technological visionary. “It’s hard to type on a piece of glass.”

This almost the very moment word leaked that RIM was set to release an “Apple Killer” which became the lamentably launched BlackBerry Storm. When reviewers and users alike generally panned the device’s initial, buggy software, Jim Balsillie said GlitchWare was the new Black(Berry):

[RIM and Verizon] made the crucial Black Friday deadline “by the skin of their teeth,” after missing a planned October debut. Mr. Balsillie said such scrambles — and the subsequent software glitches that need to be fixed — are part of the “new reality” of making complex cellphones in large volumes.

Now to put the disrespect cherry high atop of Storm owners frustration sundays, Lazaridis returns with this brain-boggler:

“That’s our first touch product, and you know nobody gets it perfect out the door. You know other companies were having problems with their first releases.”

The iPhone was Apple’s first touch product, and while iPhone 1.0 may have been limited in functionality (and 3.0 may still have boxes yet unchecked), it’s hard to take anyone seriously who doesn’t think Apple not only nailed their first touch product, but their very first phone product of any kind.

Maybe because 1) Apple wasn’t rushing for a Black Friday sales-focused deadline, 2) they weren’t trying to clone a competing device’s feature set, and 3) they cared about user experience more than 1) or 2)?

Many people still use an original iPhone 2G, some even still run iPhone OS 1.x. Storm owners have only themselves to blame for not waiting to buy Storm 2 instead? Ahem. Pitchforks to the right, torches to the left, north to Waterloo!

That said, if Dancing with the Canadian Stars ever becomes a reality, I would still vote for RIM’s co-CEO to take on the Woz role. Let the Laz dance! Ballmer could lend him the Monkey Boy choreography and we just know CrackBerry Kevin would bring out the push-powered voters!

(via Engadget, headline via Jeremy on Twitter)

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

CEOh-Snap! Storm Owners, RIM Says Your Device is teh Sux and it’s Your Fault for Buying It

‘Through the Looking Glass’ game resurrected for iPhone

Through the Looking Glass is a resurrection of one of the very first games ever made for the Mac, now for the iPhone.

Opinion: Apple should stick with iPhone app ads

Apple's advertising for the iPhone has been focusing almost exclusively on third-party apps. But Dan Moren says if it ain't broke, then why stop now?